There is nothing Doc can say to assuage or alleviate Neal's concerns. It is not the end of the world, but it can feel like the worst has happened when he's in the middle of trying to deal with this kind of unwanted change. It can feel like a betrayal, mind unable to compensate for matter. It can be terrifying. It will be, for a while.

Doc falls in step behind Neal, following him along.

"Is it too much to hope that it was a riveting two minutes of me staring at a curved brick wall I cannot see in front of me?" He will indulge in Neal changing the subject, for now.